As his contract extension was laboring through negotiations, Broncos coach John Fox was preparing himself for a worst-case scenario.The worst case for any NFL coach is to lead as a lame duck. This is the term used when a coach has one, and only one more year left on the contract.Listen to me, men. Problem is, players tend to not fully listen knowing their coach is on the hot seat...

(on what Super Bowl experience means to the team) “Really, there’s nothing like experience. So I think it lets us make our players aware of what to expect. The Broncos organization has been there five times, so as an organization, as a coaching staff, and really as a group of players, we feel like we're pretty well prepared.

John Fox: good guy, average coach. The entire coaching staff stood with their thumbs up their 'noses' while the Broncos got destroyed in the Super Bowl. The team was not prepared, there were no adjustments made, nothing. Stand and watch. I could do that and do it for a lot less than Fox is getting.

Twice I have asked (in the commentary surrounding Fox’s extension) for the names of alternative candidates. Not one single name has been advanced. When it comes down to brass tacks it seems tough to find someone who will stand up to a head to head comparison.

What is the book on John Fox?

Part I is pretty easy to figure out. Given half a chance he will get his team into the playoffs and win a few playoff games. In a dozen years of head coaching he’s been to the playoffs six times. In those Carolina years, when they didn’t go to the playoffs, they had big personnel problems.

Part II is something of a cosmic mystery. For a head coach who’s had spectacular success in the NFL, some of the playoff results have been (I’m searching for the right word here…)…shocking.

My jaw has hit the floor on three separate occasions.

- Jake Delhomme turning the ball over six times to end the Panthers 2008 season. Definitely one of the weirdest playoff games on record. I honestly thought Delhomme must have taken a head shot but apparently that wasn’t the case.

- Joe Flacco moonballin' to victory in the division round of 2012. The Ravens strategy was an open book. Famous last words: “The Broncos defense will never let him get away with that”.

- Super Bowl XLVIII. The highest scoring offense in the history of the NFL lays an egg.

The shocking aspect of those games was not about the fact of losing. Those were extremely good opposing football teams; two went on to Super Bowl victories and the other lost by a hair. Those Fox playoff losses didn't have a lot in common, except for the surreal moments. Players appeared to have lost their minds, or suddenly forgotten how to play football.

No doubt many peanuts (from the gallery) will say, “Aha!” Not me. The problem with the idea that Fox has some bizarro gene in his coaching DNA is conclusively ruled out by all those good seasons, including many playoff victories against good teams. You can't win NFL games by accident. About one thousand things need to be done right before the season begins for a team to even have a chance to be good.

“Funny shaped ball be fickle mistress”. The unpredictability is a big part of why we like it so much. No question that Fox has an ugly monkey on his back. “Can’t win the big one”. John Elway, Tony Dungy and John Harbaugh have felt those claws. Jim Harbaugh is feeling them now. Fox could be in worse company.

Last edited by retro-grouch on April 6th, 2014, 8:06 am, edited 1 time in total.

Very good points so early in the morning, grouch.I will agree that much of the blame for the Broncos losing the last game the last two years is on Fox, but I don't agree with many that the Broncos can't win with him at the helm.

In the Ravens game, I think I have seen at least 5 people singled out as the only reason the Broncos lost. This obviously can't be true, but there were at least 5 different points in that game where a different bounce, a different decision, or even a gust of wind could have changed the outcome.

This year's Super Bowl had problems from the beginning, possibly from the week leading up to the game. There were so many things that went wrong in the 1st part of the game, I again have a hard time blaming the head coach for all of the problems. The defense, which was severely chastised by the media and fans for the Ravens loss had a solid 1st half. The offense seemed to be overwhelmed and if any adjustments were made, it wasn't easy for the casual fan to see.

Should the blame for the two losses rest on the coach's shoulders ? ABSOLUTELY. But, the credit for getting the team to the Super Bowl should also go to him. The Broncos didn't give him a "coach for life" contract, but he did deserve an extension and as Grouch pointed out, who would you have take his place ?

Mora (1998-2001) won the division. Once. The next year he lost a wild card game. The year after that he went 6-10 and got fired.

Dungy (2002-2008) is generally considered a good coach. Most people not named Jon Gruden think he had a lot to do with the Bucs one championship season. As head coach of the Colts, he went to the playoffs every year. It took him five years to get to the Super Bowl and win it, and he coached three more years with playoff defeats in each year.

Caldwell (2009-2011) is an interesting case. He generally got little credit for not screwing up Dungy's Colts en route to an AFC Championship after the 2009 season. He seemed to get outcoached by Sean Payton in the Super Bowl. The outcomes of a couple of plays separated the "loser" Caldwell from the "genius" Payton. Then he raised eyebrows in 2012 by making Joe Flacco into an MVP.

So it's been proved. Anyone can win a Super Bowl with Peyton Manning, provided that they are one of the best coaches in the league, Manning is in his prime, and they have five years to get there.

Last edited by retro-grouch on April 6th, 2014, 10:36 am, edited 1 time in total.

The Patriot team that Fox faced in the Super Bowl was the best team the Pats ever had. He almost pulled it off. That's the thing about Fox as a head coach. He has the tendency to overlook some important factors that matter (my opinion). This year it could be the Bronco's running game. The Broncos need a ram rod RB next to Manning. I don't see one on the roster as of yet. I hope the Ravens draft one of them. Oops...I apologize (for talking Ravens here). The last three "Super Bowl Champs" all had better rushing totals in the playoffs than in the regular season. That's when it matters most. When facing the tough teams in the end.

ravenpic wrote:The Patriot team that Fox faced in the Super Bowl was the best team the Pats ever had. He almost pulled it off. That's the thing about Fox as a head coach. He has the tendency to overlook some important factors that matter (my opinion). This year it could be the Bronco's running game. The Broncos need a ram rod RB next to Manning. I don't see one on the roster as of yet. I hope the Ravens draft one of them. Oops...I apologize (for talking Ravens here). The last three "Super Bowl Champs" all had better rushing totals in the playoffs than in the regular season. That's when it matters most. When facing the tough teams in the end.

Personally I think there is more than enough talent to develop an effective ground game right now. I don't think the commitment has been there though. I think if you left it strictly up to Fox he'd want to run it more. His style has always been somewhat conservative in my opinion. Even with all the passing success and records being broken, I don't think he is really all that comfortable passing as much as the team has been doing. He wants his defense taking over games but when you have a tendency to get into shootouts your defense suffers. Even though Fox is the head coach, I don't think he has as much freedom in a few offensive decisions because of Elway and Manning. Looks to me that Elway will start focusing more in this direction. I hope so.

I strongly feel Manning has too much input with the short passing game and needs to be coached more into using his backs as runners more than as pass catchers. Maybe now that it's clear to almost everyone that Manning has a tendency to fall apart when he faces a determined pass rush, Elway, Fox, and Gase will hopefully also think its time to have a plan B and start to really put the priority where it needs to be at this point in time. Manning isn't going to be here much longer. When the young QB's get in there soon they will be very well off to have a stout defense and running game already in place to help them get started in their playing careers. I don't think there is a better time than right now to start changing the offense somewhat as the schedule looks a lot tougher than previous seasons. Much better defenses seem to be on the horizon for the regular season. Not sure if Denver can keep up with them just by passing all game long.

As you pointed out, the playoffs are when you better be ready. Why not use this upcoming regular season to get things in place and on film for coaching purposes? Why not give the receivers practice in downfield blocking? The offensive linemen would love it to death to practice power blocking instead of always worrying about covering for a very slow QB in the pocket to throw a pass that took more than 2.5 seconds? Give your defense a real chance to dominate by having them rested for the 4th Qtr. The Broncos have a quality punter and FG kicker. I think all the pieces are there and have been even when Moreno was here but they didn't want Ball, Hillman, and Anderson on the field running.

I truly think Manning can be much more effective throwing 25 times a game than 45 or more. If he could do that consistently, I'd start giving him more credit again and get off of his and Fox's backs for rolling over in big games.

The Broncos could be more like the Seahawks and could compete much better against them and other physical teams easily if they just committed to that style of play and stuck with it long term.

Mora (1998-2001) won the division. Once. The next year he lost a wild card game. The year after that he went 6-10 and got fired.

Dungy (2002-2008) is generally considered a good coach. Most people not named Jon Gruden think he had a lot to do with the Bucs one championship season. As head coach of the Colts, he went to the playoffs every year. It took him five years to get to the Super Bowl and win it, and he coached three more years with playoff defeats in each year.

Caldwell (2009-2011) is an interesting case. He generally got little credit for not screwing up Dungy's Colts en route to an AFC Championship after the 2009 season. He seemed to get outcoached by Sean Payton in the Super Bowl. The outcomes of a couple of plays separated the "loser" Caldwell from the "genius" Payton. Then he raised eyebrows in 2012 by making Joe Flacco into an MVP.

So it's been proved. Anyone can win a Super Bowl with Peyton Manning, provided that they are one of the best coaches in the league, Manning is in his prime, and they have five years to get there.

It may be lost on many around here.... but this is quite possibly your best post ever... well done. TU from me.

Mora (1998-2001) won the division. Once. The next year he lost a wild card game. The year after that he went 6-10 and got fired.

Dungy (2002-2008) is generally considered a good coach. Most people not named Jon Gruden think he had a lot to do with the Bucs one championship season. As head coach of the Colts, he went to the playoffs every year. It took him five years to get to the Super Bowl and win it, and he coached three more years with playoff defeats in each year.

Caldwell (2009-2011) is an interesting case. He generally got little credit for not screwing up Dungy's Colts en route to an AFC Championship after the 2009 season. He seemed to get outcoached by Sean Payton in the Super Bowl. The outcomes of a couple of plays separated the "loser" Caldwell from the "genius" Payton. Then he raised eyebrows in 2012 by making Joe Flacco into an MVP.

So it's been proved. Anyone can win a Super Bowl with Peyton Manning, provided that they are one of the best coaches in the league, Manning is in his prime, and they have five years to get there.

Problem is... and we all knew this was the case when we signed him....Manning doesn't have another three years left in him.

There is no GM, no coach, and no QB who's mere presence on the team guarantees anything. Ultimately it takes about 70 people all pulling together to win a championship and most of the time they need a little luck along the way. The way the injury picture in the modern NFL has gone, every team who sees their key personnel healthy can count themselves a little lucky.

As fans we go along for the ride. We can complain, whine, throw food at each other and say "are we there yet?" every thirty seconds or we can enjoy the trip.

If you go to Yellowstone and you see the countryside, you see bison, elk, and wolves, but you don't get to see Old Faithful then feel free to proclaim the trip is ruined and the whole thing was a waste of time. It's up to you.

When you wind up on the big steel table and God asks you "How was the trip" and you answer "I didn't get to see Old Faithful" we can all wonder what he is going to say. "Better luck next time"? Or maybe "You want something hot and sulphur smelling, I have just the ticket".

retro-grouch wrote:There is no GM, no coach, and no QB who's mere presence on the team guarantees anything. Ultimately it takes about 70 people all pulling together to win a championship and most of the time they need a little luck along the way. The way the injury picture in the modern NFL has gone, every team who sees their key personnel healthy can count themselves a little lucky.

As fans we go along for the ride. We can complain, whine, throw food at each other and say "are we there yet?" every thirty seconds or we can enjoy the trip.

If you go to Yellowstone and you see the countryside, you see bison, elk, and wolves, but you don't get to see Old Faithful then feel free to proclaim the trip is ruined and the whole thing was a waste of time. It's up to you.

When you wind up on the big steel table and God asks you "How was the trip" and you answer "I didn't get to see Old Faithful" we can all wonder what he is going to say. "Better luck next time"? Or maybe "You want something hot and sulphur smelling, I have just the ticket".

Brilliant post... One of smartest things I've read here in all my years blogging about the Broncos. I'd consider it a major success if I saw a wolf in the wilds of Yellowstone. I kind of feel the same way about seeing Peyton Manning perform in a Bronco uniform. I guess Fox is sort of like seeing a big old buffalo. Still, I'd like to see the big water spout but I won't consider it a failure if I don't. The wolf was worth the trip.